Nikola

Tesla Biography
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for
his development of alternating current electrical systems. This
biography of Nikola Tesla provides detailed information about
his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Quick Facts
Famous
as

Father of Radio

Nationality American
Born on

10 July 1856 AD

Zodiac
Sign

Cancer

Born in

Smiljan, Austrian Empire (modern-day Croatia)

Died on

07 January 1943 AD

Place of
death

New York City, New York, USA

Father

Milutin Tesla

Mother

Duka Tesla

Siblings

Dane, Milka, Angelina, Marica

Married

No

Education

Graz University of Technology (1875 1878),

Gymnasium Karlovac (1870 1873)

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for

his development of alternating current electrical systems. He
also made extraordinary contributions to the fields of
electromagnetism and wireless radio communications. He was a
child prodigy and possessed an eidetic memory with a futuristic
vision for the mankind which is evident from most of his
discoveries and researches. He was a trained electrical and
mechanical engineer whose discoveries and inventions included
the modern electric motor, wireless transmission of energy,
basic laser and radar technology, the first neon and fluorescent
illumination and the Tesla coil (widely used in radio, television
sets, and other electronic equipment).Despite being a great
inventor, his life was mostly shadowed by poverty because he
was a terrible businessman. He was impractical with his money
and had nobody to pass on his legacy to since he never got
involved in a relationship with anyone. Although he was
regarded as a generous and polite person by his friends, he had
very limited social interaction with them because of his firm
daily routine. He was a loner all his life and died penniless
without the accolades that he would ultimately earn after his
death. He was undoubtedly one of the most influential inventors
of the 20th century whose discoveries in the field of electricity
were way ahead of his time and continue to influence
technology even today.
Childhood & Early Life
He was born on July 10, 1856 in the village of Smiljan,
Austrian Empire, to Milutin Tesla, an orthodox priest and

his wife, Djuka Mandic, an inventive homemaker who, in

her spare time, created household appliances.
He was the fourth of five children in his family. He had an
eidetic memory with a knack for electrical inventions. He
always credited his mother s genetic influence for his
creative abilities.
He received his early education of German, arithmetic,
and religion from the primary school in Smiljan.
In 1870, he was enrolled at the Higher Real Gymnasium in
Karlovac and graduated the four year course within three
years in 1873 with the help of his extraordinary
intelligence
In 1875, he attended the Austrian Polytechnic in Graz,
Austria, on a Military Frontier scholarship. He was a
brilliant student in his first year but got addicted to
gambling in his second year at the college which ruined
his graduation and he was not able to obtain a degree.
Care e r
In 1881, he worked as a draftsman in the Central
Telegraph Office in Budapest. Later he became the chief
electrician in the Budapest Telephone Exchange and
made significant improvements to the Central Station
equipment.
In 1882, he was employed by the Continental Edison
Company in France as a designer of electrical equipment.
After two years, he was shifted to New York to work for
T homas Edison, helping him to redesign the direct current
generators.
His idea of improving Edisons inefficient motors and
generators through the polyphase alternating current
system prompted Edison to promise him a prize money of
fifty thousand dollars if he did it successfully. He
completed his task and demanded the prize money to
which Edison replied that his challenge was just a form of
American humor. Tesla immediately resigned from his job.

In 1888, he was hired by the industrialist George

Westinghouse, who was impressed by his idea for the
polyphase system, to develop the alternating current
electric supply system. Ultimately, he won the war of
currents with Edisons DC system by demonstrating the
marvels of electric appliances via alternating current.
Soon he established his own laboratory and invested his
time and energy on numerous experiments including the
Tesla Coil, carbon button lamp, on the power of electrical
resonance, and on various types of lighting.
In 1899, he moved to Colorado Springs where he
established his laboratory for creating a wireless global
energy transmission system. He experimented on manmade lightning for sharing information and providing free
electricity throughout the world wirelessly.
In 1900, he began his work on establishing the transAtlantic
wireless
telecommunications
facility
in
Wardenclyffe, near Shoreham, Long Island. He performed
many experiments in the facility but due to shortage of
funds, he was forced to sell it around the time of World
War I.
Later in life, he announced a method of transmitting
mechanical energy with minimal loss over any terrestrial
distance and a method of accurately determining the
location of underground mineral deposits.
Major Works
His most notable contribution is in designing the modern
alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. It
proved to be a more efficient and effective method as
compared to the direct current (DC) system of Edison in
transmitting electricity in a grid.
One of his most celebrated inventions was the Tesla
Coil, a circuit that transforms energy into extremely high
voltage charges, creating powerful electrical fields
capable of producing spectacular electrical arcs.

In 1943, he was dubbed as the the father of the radio for

his significant contributions to the development of radio.
He played a pioneering role in the development of radar
technology, X-ray technology and the rotating magnetic
fieldthe basis of most of AC machinery.
Aw ards & Achie v e m e nts
Tesla (unit), SI derived unit of magnetic flux density (or
magnetic inductivity), is named in his honor.
In 1894, he was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal.
In 1895, he was honored with the Order of Prince Danilo
I.
In 1934, he was awarded the John Scott Medal.
In 1936, he became the recipient of Order of the White
Eagle, I Class, Government of Yugoslavia.
He was awarded the University of Paris Medal in 1937.
Pe rsonal Life & Le gacy
He had a strict schedule for his everyday life. He worked
for almost 15 hours a day with not more than two hours of
sleep. He walked for eight to ten miles each day and did
not have much of a social life.
He had a photographic memory with the talent to speak in
eight languages. He never married and did not have any
known relationships despite the fact that many women
were madly in love with him.
He became a vegetarian in his later years, living on only
milk, bread, honey, and vegetable juices. He used to feed
pigeons on an everyday basis near the end of his life.
He died of unknown causes on January 7, 1943 in a hotel
room in the New York City. It was later confirmed from
examining that he died of coronary thrombosis.
T he Nikola Tesla Award, named after him, is awarded
annually for an outstanding contribution to the generation
or utilization of electric power.